masterwordsmith-unplugged

In an article written by Andrew Sia of The Star:

Tok Mat, as he is known, freely admits that his job was really as a Propaganda Minister. 

In his political memoirs, Umno: Akhir Sebuah Impian (Umno: The End of a Dream), he explains how his ministry’s campaigns, such as Setia (Loyalty), were actually a response to the Team A versus Team B split in Umno in 1987. 

“I had to bring Malay loyalty back to Umno. And I had to raise a presumption that anybody who supported (Team B led by Tengku Razaleigh then) was not loyal. I went all out in this psychological warfare,” he writes. 

“The Malays were numb to political arguments ... I needed something that penetrated the heart. I needed a song.” 

So he wrote one himself: the famous Setia song with its supposedly patriotic lyrics (“Demi negara yang tercinta”, or “For our beloved country”, goes the first line) that was broadcast for years especially via the Government’s RTM (Radio Televisyen Malaysia) stations. 

Tok Mat admits in his book that he first used Information Ministry staff in 1977 on a “mission” to topple the PAS State Government of Kelantan. 

He reveals that later, in 1995, during the Sabah state elections, he sent 500 ministry staff members to “campaign for Umno” against PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah, which was controlling the state government then). 

“The officers went to the ground,” he explains in fluent English at a recent interview. 

“They rented rooms in villages, they slept and ate like the locals, they gathered information and persuaded the people. This silent propaganda works very well.”
Since government machinery is supposed to be neutral, I ask Tok Mat if he considers what he did an abuse of power. 

He replies: “You could say I abused radio and TV, but it was a privilege I had. I could not depend on TV3, (The New) Straits Times, Berita Harian or Utusan Malaysia because they were then controlled by Anwar Ibrahim’s boys. I had no choice but to use RTM. 

CLICK HERE for the rest of the article.  

CLICK HERE for an interview with The Nut Graph on the late Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat's views on 1Malaysia and other issues.

Fast forward to 2012. This year, Malaysians will celebrate its 55th year of independence. To commemorate that occasion, the song Janji Ditepati was recently released. The lyrics were written by Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim while the melody is by Aye, Jasnie and Arman E six. Look at the lyrics of the song:


This is the video clip:
I salute Aidila Razak of Malaysiakini for her critical report of the song which you can access HERE. 


Listen to the two songs...and form your own judgement...